Judges Weigh Boat-speed Law Study

State Says Flawed Or Not, Research Meets Legal Requirements

December 23, 1992|By Craig Quintana Of The Sentinel Staff

DAYTONA BEACH — Forget that the researcher who forecast the effects of the state's boat-speed law on Volusia County wasn't an economist.

It also shouldn't matter that he called Ron Jon Surf Shop in Brevard County for information on Volusia's economy. Nor should it matter that his local research consisted of six long-distance phone calls.

Those were some of the arguments made Tuesday by Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Glogau, trying to defend the state's manatee protection law from a challenge by local boaters.

A three-judge panel of the Fifth District Court of Appeal battered Glogau with sharp-tongued questions, practically ridiculing the economic study on which the law is based.

''It really hits me as bureaucratic gobbledygook,'' said Judge Warren Cobb, who later referred to the report as ''meaningless blabber.''

If the judges find the study faulty, the 1 1/2-year-old law could be invalidated in Volusia. A ruling against the state could make vulnerable a dozen other adopted or pending county boating speed laws.

The rules, adopted in the summer of 1991, generally limit speeds on Volusia rivers and large waterways to 30 mph and establish speeds as low as 5-7 mph on most tributaries.

Citizens for Responsible Boating Inc. fought the rule, criticizing the adequacy of the report. A state hearing officer ruled for the Department of Natural Resources last January, and the boaters appealed.

A decision is not expected until the middle of next year.

Glogau told the judges that even if the report was incomplete and flawed, it still met the minimum legal requirements.

''The fact that the specific numbers and what not are not there does not invalidate the statement,'' Glogau said.

Yes it does, answered attorney Hal Spence, who is representing the boaters. Spence said the state deliberately created a half-hearted study to downplay the negative effects on the county's marine industry.

''They wrote a rosy, flowery impact statement . . . so that the average person who read that wouldn't have cause for alarm,'' he said.

Spence said the Department of Natural Resources paid researcher Craig Diamond $385 to do the ''comprehensive'' report. Diamond also did the reports for 12 other counties, including Brevard.

''The man never came to Volusia County, and he's no expert,'' Spence told the court.

By law, the report was supposed to provoke debate and highlight concerns, Glogau argued, saying the quality of the document was not the main issue.

''This is not just six telephone calls,'' said Glogau, arguing that the officials who made key decisions knew of the possible economic fallout.

Judge Jacqueline Griffin questioned whether the report was even needed because Glogau argued that even a rotten one met the legal requirements.

Neither Spence nor his client, boater president Rick Rawlins, commented after the hearing.

Glogau acknowledged that he ''got beat up'' but said the court could still rule for the state after reviewing the law.

Rawlins in October beat the first speeding ticket case under the law; the state has appealed that ruling to the 5th District Court.